Pharmaceutical and medical industry

The application and growth of the plastics industry in the medical equipment and packaging industry has attracted a lot of attention. In fact, plastics have obvious advantages over glass and metal materials in medical applications：

1. low cost, no need to disinfect reuse, effectively eliminate the spread of viruses;

2. plasticity, compared to metal is difficult to manufacture sophisticated and complex structural products, plastic can be made at will any shape;

3. with hard and elastic, unlike glass as fragile;

4. with a certain degree of chemical inertia, the use of stable results.

At present, the use of plastic packaging materials for medicine and medical treatment is second only to the use of plastic packaging materials for food and beverage, and its packaging methods are basically the same. However, the requirements of medical and pharmaceutical plastic packaging materials are more demanding than those of food and beverage plastic packaging materials, and the material requirements are also more stringent.

Polypropylene (PP) has a high degree of transparency, good barrier properties and radiation resistance, making it useful for a wide range of applications in the medical device and packaging industries. Manufacturers of medical-grade polypropylene often position it as a competitor to polyvinyl chloride or other plastics. Typical medical applications for polypropylene include clear plastic covers, flexible pouches, syringes, tubing, medical handlers, test tubes, beakers and straws. Medical-grade polypropylene can be co-extruded, blow molded or made into film like other materials. Emerging markets for polypropylene are parenteral nutrition packaging and dialysis films.

Polystyrene (PS) has properties such as low cost, low density, transparency, dimensional stability and resistance to radiation sterilization that make it suitable for use in medical applications. The resin is available in two types: crystalline polystyrene and high-impact polystyrene. Crystalline polystyrene is used in medical grade products such as labware, pico-incubators and tissue culture trays, and high impact polystyrene is used in thermoformed products such as catheter trays, heart pumps and dural trays. Both crystalline polystyrene and high-impact styrene are used as breathing apparatus, syringes enough and suction cans. A competitor to polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride and acrylic resins, polystyrene is used primarily as utensils and trays in the laboratory ware and packaging industries.

The characteristics of polyethylene (PE) high-density polyethylene: low cost, low friction, chemical resistance and ease of molding make it widely used in medical tubing, making it a strong competitor to polyvinyl chloride; another market for high-density polyethylene is as a packaging product for pharmaceuticals. LDPE is used in pharmaceutical packaging as a sterile, clear plastic cover, another competitive material for PVC. UHMW polyethylene has a high impact strength, low mo-penetration, stress cracking resistance and good energy absorption properties, making it ideal for artificial hip, knee and shoulder connectors.

The typical properties of polycarbonate (PC) are toughness, strength, rigidity and heat-resistant steam sterilization, characteristics that make polycarbonate a preferred choice for hemodialysis filters, surgical tool handles and oxygen tanks (when used in surgical heart surgery, such instruments remove carbon dioxide from the blood and add oxygen); medical applications of polycarbonate also include needle-free injection systems, perfusion instruments, blood centrifuge bowls and pistons. Taking advantage of its high transparency properties, myopic glasses are usually made of polycarbonate.
Polyetheretherketone (PEEK), a high-performance engineering resin, has a wide range of medical applications, with continuous use at 260°C and little change in performance from continuous exposure to hot water or steam; PEEK also has high dimensional stability, high impact strength and tensile strength. In medical applications, polyetheretherketone is used as a medical implant device and as the smallest surgical implant hose, such as implant support tubes for cardiac arteries. Other applications include catheters, drug release equipment, surgical tools and endoscopes.